In the opener, the Lady Cougars (17-1, 4-0 AMC South), who received votes in the latest NAIA national poll, used a balanced hitting attack to down Ohio Dominican (12-8, 2-2 AMC South) by the scores of 30-19, 30-20, 36-34. MVNU pulled away in the first game after being tied 10-10, won the second game, and then held off the Lady Panthers in the third game to take the conference match.

Senior middle hitter Shena Beheler (below right) pounded 21 kills to go with 14 digs and eight blocks, while sophomore setter Kaylin Austen (left) handed out 51 assists with 11 digs. Sophomore outside hitter Courtney Springer contributed 11 kills and four blocks, and freshman middle hitter Jackie Albrecht added 10 kills, 13 digs, and three blocks. Junior outside hitter Audrey Hickinbotham smashed nine kills, while senior libero Tiffany Milburn registered 30 digs and handled 43 serve reception attempts with just one error.

“It is always good to win a conference match,” said MVNU head coach Paul Swanson. “You cannot look past any of your conference opponents, and I was really pleased with the energy and execution of our team in this match. This was an important win.”

In the Lady Cougars’ second match of the day, MVNU downed Daemen (6-15), who had beaten Ohio Dominican in five games (30-24, 25-30, 24-30, 31-29, 15-10), by the scores of 30-14, 30-22, 30-12. Beheler just missed a triple-double with 18 kills, 10 digs, and nine blocks, while Austen handed out 38 assists to go with eight digs. Springer pounded eight kills with four blocks, and Hickinbotham and sophomore middle hitter Stephanie Zollars each smashed seven kills with Zollars tallying three blocks. Milburn also posted 15 more digs.

“We did what we needed to do in order to win this match,” said Swanson. “It was nice to get everyone in on the action, and each player contributed when they got in the match.”

MVNU will return to action on Thursday when the Lady Cougars will travel to Shawnee State University for another AMC South Division match that will begin at 7:00 p.m.